The Serrano Legacy
by Elizabeth Moon
science fiction, chick lit
#1 Hunting Party
copyright 1993
rated 6/10: read to pass the time
#2 Sporting Chance
copyright 1994
rated 7/10: well worth reading
read in December 2014
Hunting Party is light, fun, unsurprising. There's the ex-space-navy captain now reduced to captain of a space yacht for the idle rich. There's the crew of the yacht, a bunch of no-hopers who do not meet the new captain's naval standards. And the passengers, idle, rich and beautiful.
They all develop as expected...
Yet it's not all space adventure. In fact, most of the action takes place on a planet. And I tell you what: this is the first time that I have truly understood the joy of fox hunting !
Okay, it's not entirely due to Moon's writing. She sets the scene, with descriptions of the hunt. Not all good, especially if you have trouble staying on a horse. I read beyond the story...
Milady loves riding horses. She loves the steeple-chase, with its jumps and other obstacles. Take a large area, dotted with a large variety of obstacles. Add one fox -- and you have a randomly set, ever changing obstacle course ! A challenge which is new and different, each time it is run.
Now I understand the popularity of our local fox hunting club. Which has never, in its entire history, seen a fox.
This first book of the Serrano series is predictable, lightweight and a lot of fun.
The second book -- Sporting Chance -- is less predictable, more complex, even more fun.
The captain is more settled. The crew are at a better standard. And the idle rich youngsters have done their essential growing up.
You know what still surprises me ? It's the amount of work it takes just to get a space ship into space !
There's a surprising amount of effort spent just fitting out and stocking up. Leaving very little time for space battles. In fact, once more, there is a lot of action on planets... Or on space stations which service the planets.
Finally, the rich old lady, the idle owner of the space yacht... She spends most of the book... Well, let's not provide a spoiler :-) But it's a very sympathetic treatment of a too common situation.
Book one is an introduction to the characters and the situation. Book two puts the now more capable characters into a more difficult adventure. It's still chick lit but ... better.
It's difficult to introduce a new series of books. Really, though I think that Moon learnt, and applied that learning to the writing of book two.
I still have book three to read and review. I'm looking forward to it.
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